Harry Potter and the Gauntlet of High School
by Emiliya Wolfe
Summary: In an AU world where Voldemort was defeated in the First Wizarding War, Lily and James travel the world. When Harry turns 14, they decide to move back to England to give him the full Hogwarts experience. However, Harry finds that high school becomes a bit more complicated when he's named the 4th champion in a tournament with only 3 schools. Inspired by the film "Mean Girls".


**Written for the QLFC round 6: write a story inspired by "Mean Girls".**

 **Team: Tutshill Tornados.**

 **Position: Keeper.**

 _AU: Voldemort was defeated in the First Wizarding War; Harry only goes to Hogwarts from 4th year onwards._

* * *

Harry Potter nervously stepped onto the Hogwarts Express for the first time, glancing backwards to his waving parents on the platform. They had both immensely enjoyed their Hogwarts experience, but he didn't see why he couldn't keep getting homeschooled. Scowling, he tried to find an empty compartment.

Lily Evans was a widely respected Potioneer, creative and always on the hunt for fresh, new ingredients, while James Potter… Well, no one knew exactly what James Potter and Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, did for a living. Mostly it was going on adventures and donating whatever cool thing they found in their travels.

As such, Harry learned a lot of his theory, charmswork and potions from his mother, whereas his father taught him how to play Quidditch, as well as everything there was to know about any Dark creature they encountered. Of course, Harry had only been allowed on the adventures so long as they weren't too dangerous.

But now, here he was, at age fourteen, going into his fourth year of Hogwarts without any prior knowledge about anyone there, who had probably already formed friendships that wouldn't break. Harry had never really been around people his age, preferring to hang around adults most of the time. He doubted that the next four years would be enjoyable.

Luckily, he had already been sorted into Gryffindor a few weeks ago, when his parents came to sign him up for the next few years. The Headmaster had been impressed when Harry didn't flinch at the Sorting Hat's song, but Harry had seen far stranger things in his travels. There was nothing that could surprise him now.

Or so he thought.

'Sorry, is anyone sitting here?' asked a girl with bushy brown hair. She would have been very pretty, had she not also had buck teeth. Still, she seemed friendly enough, so Harry gestured to the empty seat opposite him. 'Thanks.'

Following hot on her heels was a lanky redhead, his hair shaggy and his gait loping. He nodded at Harry in greeting.

'I'm Ron. Ron Weasley,' he said, holding out his hand.

Harry knew he had to shake it - he wasn't completely oblivious to social interactions.

'Harry Potter,' he replied.

'I'm Hermione Granger,' the girl said, smiling her welcome. 'I noticed your robes had a Gryffindor logo on them, and you seem to be about our age, but I haven't seen you around before.'

'Blimey Hermione, nothing gets past you, does it?'

Harry couldn't tell if Ron was joking or not. Hermione slapped his arm, but didn't seem angry. Ron also appeared not to mind this act of violence. Harry looked between them, unsure as to what he was supposed to say.

'Don't mind him, Harry,' Hermione smiled brightly. 'So, where are you from?'

'Everywhere, I guess,' he replied with a shrug. 'My parents travel a lot, but they decided I should get the Hogwarts experience. So they've settled all of their outstanding contracts and have decided to stay in England for a while.'

'Wait… Potter… You're not by any chance related to Lily Potter, are you? She's my role model.' Hermione's eyes were shining with enthusiasm.

Suddenly, Harry felt as though he might survive the next few years just fine.

* * *

A few weeks later, Harry found that he was enjoying Hogwarts immensely. Ron and Hermione had taken him under their wing, showing him the ropes and introducing him to everyone. He had also tentatively made friends with one Draco Malfoy, who apparently thought that Harry was of the "right sort", though that definition didn't extend to either Ron or Hermione.

Needless to say, Harry tried to stay away from Draco, whilst still remaining on good terms.

However, he had also noticed that there were distinctive groups within Hogwarts. Hermione was regularly called a "Mudblood" by Draco Malfoy and various other Slytherins, whereas Ron was named "blood-traitor" for defending her. As Harry was a half-blood, he seemed to be exempt from the whole conflict, which revolved around purebloods and Muggleborns.

He also had the added bonus of becoming the Gryffindor Seeker, completely by chance. Oliver Wood had seen him showing off his broom to Ron and immediately decided that he wanted Harry on the team. Harry was fitting in quite nicely. He had even noticed that the Ravenclaw Seeker, who Harry often passed in the changing rooms, since the Ravenclaw team practiced after the Gryffindors, was very pretty. Even prettier than Hermione Granger. Her name, he soon found out, was Cho Chang.

Now, the school's attention was focused on something else entirely. The gossip about the new students in town and the Triwizard Tournament had been on everyone's lips for the past ten days. Today was the day that Dumbledore was to call out the names of the three lucky champions.

Harry grinned and cheered with the rest when Fleur Delacour was announced Beauxbatons' champion, and applauded with gusto when one of his favourite Quidditch players, Victor Krum, was called up for Durmstrang.

'This is going to be one hell of a year,' Ron yelled into his ear, and Harry couldn't help but nod. He was looking forward to rooting for the players, participating in a crowd spirit.

When Cedric Diggory was announced champion of Hogwarts, the Great Hall went wild. Head Boy, Quidditch Captain, and hottie extraordinaire (Hermione's words, not Harry's), Cedric Diggory was easily the most popular and talented boy in the whole school. Each House cheered, thinking that if their own members couldn't be picked, at least it was Diggory.

Harry noticed that Cho, in particular, was smiling widely, and felt a growl of jealousy claw at his stomach.

As Dumbledore went on to describe what would happen to the three candidates, a fourth piece of paper suddenly shot out of the flames. The Great Hall went quiet, celebrations forgotten in the confusion. The rules were clear - only one participant would be selected for each school, and there were only three schools in attendance.

'Harry Potter,' Dumbledore read out quietly.

Harry stayed put, until a rather violent nudge from Ron pushed him forwards. As he stood, the Great Hall erupted in a mass of whispering and arguing. Dumbledore himself walked up to meet Harry halfway down the Gryffindor table.

'Did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire, Harry?' the headmaster asked calmly.

Hermione gasped from where she was sitting. 'Oh my god, you can't just _ask_ people if they put their name in the Goblet of Fire!'

'Yeah, because they'll lie,' Ron added nastily, raising his voice to make sure that Harry had heard him.

Suddenly, the school year had just become a whole lot more complicated.

* * *

'I don't understand why Ron's ignoring me,' Harry complained to Hermione as they sat in front of the Great Lake, eating toast.

He knew that it wasn't good for his figure, but he was in serious need of carbs at the moment. Cho Chang had just agreed to go on a date with Cedric Diggory at the next Hogsmeade weekend. Honestly, what was the point of even being a champion if he couldn't get the added perks?

'He's just jealous,' Hermione explained. 'And angry. You were fine with being friends with us before, and then you decided that you needed to become Triwizard champions, join the popular crowd and abandon your former friends altogether.'

'But that's not true!' Harry said hotly.

'I know,' Hermione sighed, tossing a piece of toast to the Giant Squid. 'By the way, Ron told me to tell you that the weather forecast today is cloudy with a 30% chance of there already being dragons.'

'What?'

'I don't know.'

* * *

'Why didn't you just tell me yourself about the dragons?' Harry asked Ron as they loitered in the Entrance Hall, waiting for a chance to corner a girl by herself.

Next to them, Hermione gave out a great sigh, closing her books and muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "boys". She had already found a date to the Yule Ball, though she wouldn't say whom.

'I did, mate,' Ron replied, fiddling with his robes before answering properly. 'I guess I was just too proud. But I believe you now, you know. And this is a great opportunity to knock Diggory off his pedestal. Show him that it's not the richest and purest of blood that are the best. I'm hoping you win this Tournament now!'

'Thanks for the vote of confidence, Ron,' Harry grinned. 'But Cedric isn't that bad.'

'Instead of gossiping about Cedric, how about you ask Cho out, Harry?' Hermione asked, nodding her head to the side. 'She's about to leave, and she's alone.'

She and Ron watched as Harry walked up to Cho, pulling her to the side for privacy. When they saw him hang his head on his way back, they knew that it had been a lost cause.

'Better luck next time mate,' Ron patted Harry on the shoulder.

'I take back my earlier words,' Harry replied glumly. 'Cedric _is_ that bad. He's a useless pretty-boy who doesn't have enough brains to fill an egg cup, let alone win the Tournament.'

Ron and Hermione glanced at each other, twin grins forming on their faces.

'Well, I have a proposition for you then…' Ron started, but his words trailed into silence, his jaw hanging open.

Harry turned to see what had Ron looking at so gormlessly. Walking towards them was a girl with silvery blonde hair that was twisted into an elegant knot. She was tall and willowy and seemed to glide across the room. Harry felt his breath hitch in his throat, unable to tear his eyes away from her otherworldly beauty.

'Who is she?'

'Fleur Delacour,' Ron wiped the saliva from his chin. 'And might I add that she is looking mighty fine this afternoon.'

'You did _not_ just say that,' Hermione interrupted, looking nauseous.

'What? It's true. I'm asking her out.'

'She's your sister!'

'Technically only my sister-in-law, and that's only if she accepts Bill's proposal.'

Hermione scoffed in disgust.

'Ron, that still counts,' she replied, dragging the redhead away from a conversation he would live to regret.

As Harry made to follow them out into the corridor, he was intercepted by Professor McGonagall.

'Potter, a word if you will?'

The question had an underlying command that Harry dared not defy. He nodded meekly, following her to a corner of the Entrance Hall where they would not be overheard.

'I trust that you've found a partner for the Yule Ball, Mr Potter?' McGonagall asked.

'Um… no. I thought I'd go stag, you know…' Harry's voice died in his throat as he noticed McGonagall's glare.

'Might I remind you, Mr Potter, that the champions lead the dance. With no partner, you cannot dance, and with no dance, you severely damage Hogwarts' standing in front of the other schools. Can I count on you to find a partner before Yule?'

'Actually, I don't think I can go,' Harry tried to cough realistically, but it was weak even to his own ears. 'I'm sick,' he added hopefully.

'Nice try, Mr Potter. I'll see you there at six. _With_ a suitable dance partner.'

* * *

'Well look here,' Draco Malfoy strutted up to Harry and Ron as they went to get more drinks. Parvati and Padma had disappeared long ago, and something told Harry they weren't coming back. 'If it isn't Potty, trying to steal my glory. It won't work you know.'

He pressed his "Support Cedric Diggory - The Real Hogwarts Champion" badge, and the words were replaced by glowing green letters spelling out "Potter stinks".

'That would require you having glory in the first place, Malfoy,' Ron spat.

'Oh what do we have here?' The Slytherin rounded on Ron. 'I'm surprised to see you talk, Weasel. I thought your family was almost too poor to function.'

Ron went to punch Malfoy in the face, but Harry held him back. He wished he hadn't though, especially when Professor Snape arrived at the scene.

'Well, well, well,' the Potions Master drawled. 'What do we have here?'

'Weasley here was trying to sock me the Muggle way,' Malfoy immediately whined. 'I didn't even _do_ anything though. I mean, I can't help if if I'm rich and popular and he's not.'

'Ten points from Gryffindor,' Snape said immediately, not even looking towards the two other boys to verify the story. 'And don't let me catch you trying to brawl again, or it'll be detention for the both of you.'

Harry clenched his jaw in indignation, but said nothing. If Snape had been a Dark creature, then Harry would have been allowed to cast as many spells as he wanted. Unfortunately, he wasn't on one of James and Sirius's trips, and there were rules in place against attacking teachers.

Malfoy smirked at him behind Snape's back, flashing his badge back to "Support Cedric Diggory" before flouncing off to try to ingratiate himself with the seventh year Hufflepuff.

Later in the evening, Cedric sought out Harry as he was coming from the men's room. The older boy stared him in the eye for a few seconds, before he suddenly nodded.

'On Wednesdays, we go to the Prefect's bathroom,' he whispered, as if imparting Harry with some great secret. 'Password's _pine fresh_.'

Without further ado, the Hufflepuff straightened his robes and sauntered off. Harry stared at him cluelessly for a moment, before he realised that it was probably some kind of joke.

 _Merlin, how I hate the both of them,_ Harry thought. _Ron's right, I do need to win this. With whatever it takes._

* * *

It turned out that "whatever it takes" wasn't enough.

Harry had managed to get Cedric to replace his broom polish with grease after saying his father swore by it, causing Victor Krum to scoff at the Hufflepuff when they went flying together. He had staged run-in encounters with Cho to try to win her over. He had convinced Fred and George - the resident pranksters - to feed Cedric Ton-Tongue Toffees every time the Head Boy had an interview with Rita Skeeter.

But nothing worked. Despite their efforts, Cedric still remained the most popular boy in Hogwarts.

At least Hermione had trumped Draco Malfoy in every class, proving that Muggleborns were just as good as purebloods. That was one victory the Gryffindors had been able to celebrate.

Now, Harry was in the final stretch of the third task - a maze filled with Dark creatures - and he was loving the sheer simplicity of it. Identify the problem, point wand, speak spell.

 _Now_ this _is something I have missed,_ Harry thought.

He rounded another corner only to be met with the sight of glinting gold. There it was. The Triwizard Cup. Five short steps and the winnings would be his.

Harry grinned and walked forwards.

A large, hairy, eight-legged monster dropped down into his path, dropping a struggling white sack on the floor.

Harry gasped as he realised that the sack was none other than Cedric Diggory, struggling to break free of the spider web. There was no time to dwell further, however, because at that moment a set of pincers as large as his forearm descended upon Harry, forcing him to the ground and sending his wand clattering to the side.

He cried out, struggling and kicking, until he somehow managed to roll out from under the beast's enormous belly to his wand.

' _Stupefy!'_ he cried, pointing the wand at the beast's belly.

The spider stumbled back, dazed but definitely not unconscious.

Too late, Harry remembered that two wizards were needed to stun an Acromantula, due to their thick hide. Quickly, he dodged the spider's legs and pointed his wand towards Cedric.

' _Diffindo!_ '

With the webbing cut, the Hufflepuff was quickly able to free himself and his wand and join Harry as he faced the angry monster.

'On the count of three,' Cedric said, immediately understanding what to do.

'One…'

'Two…

'Three!' they shouted together. ' _Stupefy!'_

They jumped back as the Acromantula's legs gave out and it fell heavily to the ground. Grinning at each other, the two Hogwarts champions started to the Cup. Once they reached the podium, however, they hesitated, both feeling uneasy.

'Together?' Harry asked, wanting some sort of truce. After all, they had just saved each other's' lives.

'Together,' Cedric confirmed.

 _Maybe he's not so bad after all,_ Harry thought to himself, grabbing ahold of the Cup and letting it whisk him away into the void.

* * *

Harry was met with the sound of cheers and trumpets as he reappeared in the former Quidditch pitch. He grinned at the crowd, trying to spot Ron and Hermione in the fray. But soon the crowds turned to screams from those in the front row. Harry frowned. _Isn't that a bit too dramatic?_

'He's killed 'im! Harry Potter's killed Cedric Diggory!' someone shouted.

 _No I haven't, you idiot,_ Harry thought, looking around. _Why hasn't Cedric said anything?_

Then he saw him. Lying prone on the floor, Cedric was staring milky-eyed at the sky above him. His robes had fallen open, revealing two large pincer-holes that had slashed through his clothes.

Harry drew back in horror. _No! Merlin, please don't let him be…_

'He's not dead!' Dumbledore called, rushing to tend the wounded Hufflepuff. 'Simply poisoned. Acromantula venom, by the looks of it. Hagrid, would you mind taking a look…?'

* * *

In the end, Harry ended up giving a third of his winnings to Cedric, a third of his winnings to Fred and George, and split the rest evenly between Ron and Hermione. He didn't feel like he needed the money anymore. Hell, he had never needed it. He hadn't even needed the win.

He had had the best friends one could hope for right from the start, and Cedric hadn't deserved everything Harry had done to him, simply because he was jealous of the older boy's relationship with Cho Chang. There were plenty of other girls out there. But something told him that his friends were irreplaceable.


End file.
